


Aging with Grace

by wonkystank



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Birthday Fluff, Drowning, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Head Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:09:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21911974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonkystank/pseuds/wonkystank
Summary: For IronDad Secret Santa @keep-a-bucket-full-of-starsThree months after the third and final snap, Tony is finally home.He has a metal arm that he's currently adjusting to and sure, he's short of breath easily, but he's home.A home that includes his wife who is most definitely his soul mate, his daughter, and Peter Parker, his son by choice, a bond stronger than blood.Today was supposed to be simple. Today was Peter's birthday, and Tony wanted to make sure that he had a good time. So, he brought him out to the lake house, a place where the world was unable to interrupt.But for all Peter's enhancements, he still tended to be something of a klutz.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 10
Kudos: 63
Collections: Iron Dad Secret Santa 2019





	Aging with Grace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Buckets_Of_Stars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buckets_Of_Stars/gifts).



> title inspired by Bastille's Oblivion  
> for my lovely irondad secret santa giftee, leah  
> I really tried to pour a lot of love into this, I hope it shows. I was only able to fill one of the prompts as life caught up and kicked me in the face, but I hope that it's everything you wanted. I figured with fluff, h/c, and angst, all rolled into one, you can't really go wrong.  
> prompt: Peter and Morgan are playing in the lake when Peter hits his head on a rock (or something) Cue Overlyprotective!Irondad to the rescue and a very upset Morgan  
> tw: almost drowning, head trauma, mention of blood, mention of death, brief period of non-graphic disassociation  
> ST*RKERS DO NOT INTERACT

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Can we go out yet? Please, I've been waiting foreverrrr," Morgan whined, drawing out the last syllable. She was dressed in only a glittery purple bathing suit and green conical princess hat, and at that moment she was tugging on Tony Stark's arm as he slowly flipped bacon in a hot pan. 

"Not yet, Maguna. Gotta wait for an adult to come out and watch you, alright? That's the rule," Tony replied. 

A quiet smile slipped onto his face. He had doubted if he'd be able to have this again after the final battle. Didn't even think he would live. Could hardly imagine a world as good as this. He had his family. His entire family. Pepper, the love of his life, Morgan, his perfect, beautiful daughter, and Peter, the son he loved, lost, and found again. He fought so hard for it. He lost his arm for it. But that was nothing compared to the joy of having his family all together. 

Just then, interrupting his thoughts, Tony picked up the sound of light footsteps on the stairs. 

"Hey, is that the birthday boy I hear?" Tony called out.

Without waiting for any answer, Morgan ran like a bullet toward the stairs. 

"Peterrr! Happy birthday happy birthday happy birthday," she squealed, "you're old now!"

"Mmmm, sure am, Morgs. Have you had breakfast yet?" Peter said, his words still slightly slurred from sleep.

"Nope! But Daddy's making waffles! We never ever ever have waffles, so you're pretty special."

Peter walked into the kitchen, Morgan set on his hip, and said with a mischievous glimmer in his eye, "Waffles? That is pretty special. Whaddya think, Tony? Am I special?" 

"You? Special? Nah, you're just a normal kid that I pay a few pennies every so often to rent for a bit. Like a birthday party clown," Tony said, smirking, and added, "Pepper and May are, uh, sleeping off the last of their gossip session last night." 

'Gossip Session' was code for 'Get drunk and whine about your superhero nephew/husband and trade stories about them.' It had been a while since the last, so it lasted a little longer this time around. 

"Yeah, we need to split them up, I swear. They're gonna take over the world together if we leave them alone for too long," Peter replied. 

"Well, they'll be delayed for the morning at least, so it looks like it's just us three for breakfast. I also have a sneaking suspicion that someone might want to go for a swim," Tony said with a wink in Morgan's direction. 

Peter appeared to think this over, all the while Morgan was squirming in his arms, "Hmm, but I didn't ask to go swimming. And you aren't supposed to go in the water yet or exercise too much with your new arm. Who could that be?" 

Finally, Morgan dissolved into a fit of giggles, and said, "It's me, silly!" 

"You? Oh, well I dunno about that. I guess something can be arranged," Peter said slyly. 

"Speaking of arrangements," said Tony, "Why don't you two set the table? I'm about to finish up here."

"Sounds good!" he replied cheerfully, and then redirected his attention to Morgan, saying, "Alright Morgy, blast off in three- two- one- go, go, go!" 

\--

After breakfast was finished and Morgan was temporarily occupied by some mundane kids' show, Tony pulled Peter aside, and asked, "Pete? Are you okay with going down to the lake with Morgan while I clean up? I don't feel like waking up May or Pep before we have to. It'll just be a few minutes."

"Yeah, of course! Gimme like thirty seconds to get my bathing suit on and then I'll take her."

"Thirty seconds? Do you seriously think tha-" 

Peter cut him off by racing upstairs. 

Tony pinched his brow and muttered exasperatedly under his breath, "Time it, Fri."

After a few moments, Peter pounded back down the stairs, slightly breathless. 

"Twenty-seven-point-four-three," Friday replied. "Beat that!" 

"Rather not, thanks," he said, then sighed and called out in a sing-song tone, "Maguuuuna! There's someone who would like to swim with you!"

She streaked into the room like a Tasmanian devil, squealing excitedly and incoherently. 

"Shhh kiddo, remember what we talked about with keeping it quiet for Auntie May and Mommy?" 

Morgan's eyes widened comically, "Okay," she whispered reverently. 

"Ready to go, Pete?" Tony asked. 

"Yup!" Peter replied cheerfully, adding to Morgan, "Alright, c'mon Morgs, let's go!" 

They sprinted outside and Tony smiled, watching his kids run to the beach. He began to hum aimlessly to himself as he continued to tidy up, going faster than usual in an effort to go out and see his kids. 

\------

Just a few minutes had passed as Tony wiped the counters when all of a sudden, Tony picked up the sound of Morgan's screams from down by the lake. Not her happy squeals however, screams of fear and pain. 

Fearing the worst, he dropped the cloth he had been using and tore down to the beach. 

"Morgan! Morgan," He yelled as he ran, "I'm coming!" 

As he got closer, he realized that Morgan was screaming, "Peter! Peter!" over and over again. 

Tony's chest tightened and his step faltered for just a moment. 

_No. No. Not again._

_Not now._

_No._

_No._

_No._

_Please._

Tony looked up and saw Morgan at the edge of the dock, who seemed to be frantically tugging at something in the water. 

"Daddy! I-I don't think I can hold him anymore!" Morgan said, fear coloring her voice and features. 

"Just hold on for another second sweetheart, I'm coming," Tony called out hoarsely. 

At long last, he made it to the dock, and in a single swift movement, swung Morgan around with his flesh so that she was behind him and grabbed onto Peter's wrist with the metal one. 

Tony pulled, and sharp pain erupted in his right shoulder, where his new metal arm was attached. 

_No._

_Keep going._

He pulled harder. 

Tony could hear Morgan crying somewhere behind him. 

But she was safe. 

He had to get Peter out. 

He-

He couldn't live with that. 

Not again. 

With a last enormous yank, he got Peter out of the water and flipped him onto his back on the dock. 

Tony grabbed Peter's wrist again, finding his pulse point instinctively. 

A beat. Another. 

A little weak, a little slow, but there. 

He turned Peter over to recovery position, rubbing his back gently. Tony checked his breathing with a hand in front of Peter's nose, sighing in relief when warm air hit.

With the reassurance of Peter being okay and his vitals steady, Tony scooped Morgan up into his arms, hushing her sobs gently.

"Hey, hey, it's alright kiddo. Peter's gonna be okay," he said softly, "Wanna tell me how it happened?"

Morgan sniffed a few times, then started tearfully, "We were just playing in the lake, and then Peter wanted- he wanted to jump off the dock. And-and then he did, and I did, and we did it together too but then the dock got- it got all slippery and he ran and he slipped on the way, and he hit his head and fell in the water. And-and then I grabbed on before he sank and then you came out and saved him, Daddy. You-you saved him."

Instead of answering, Tony quickly feels at the back of Peter's head and finds sticky blood. High up, thankfully, and a little to the side. No danger of spinal injuries, but the wound would definitely need to be looked at and taken care of. But Tony wouldn't be able to to lift Peter again, especially fully out of the water, and he could feel his shoulder starting to burn again after the adrenaline and shock wearing off.

At that moment, his saving grace, Pepper and May came rushing out with a first aid kit, both clad only in bare feet and pajamas.

With a certain steely determination that only nurses possess, May looked him in the eye and demanded, "Sitrep, now."

Situation report, okay. He could manage that.

"Slipped on the dock, hit his head on the edge. Submerged for, uh, ninety seconds. Pulse steady, a little bit slower and weaker than ideal, same with breathing."

Tony let the world fade into a blur of color, still conscious, but hardly aware. He wasn't sure how he or Peter got inside, but suddenly they were, and May was poking at Peter's wound and muttering soft affirmations.

With a start, he realized that Pepper was crouching in front of him, saying something. 

"-need to get your arm checked out, considering the stress you put it under today, but you're going to be okay as well. How are you feeling?"

"I- I'm fine. Will- is Peter going to wake up soon?"

Pepper smiled, letting out a small inhale.

"Any minute now, Tony."

"Can I-?" He gestured to the couch where Peter had been laid out.

"May thought you might ask. When she's done you can go over, but she still needs a bit to finish up, alright?" Pepper said kindly.

"O-okay. Yeah, I'll do that," Tony said shakily.

Moments, minutes, seconds or hours later, Tony wasn't sure, May waved him over. With Pepper’s help, he walked to the other couch, and then sat down, placing Peter's head in his lap. Tony began to card through his hair, falling into the familiar rhythm. 

Peter began to shift. At last, his eyes blinked open drowsily. Peter let out a soft grunt.

"Hey kiddo," Tony began softly, "how're you feeling?"

"Mmm. Head hurts. 'm tired, kinda wanna sleep. 'zat okay to do? I don' really remember wha' happened this time."

"Yeah, you're allowed to sleep. You slipped on the dock, fell in the water."

"Makes sense. Prolly shouldn' do that again, yeah?"

"Not in my lifetime, kiddo."

"Mmm. Yeah, I think I wanna live until I'm 50 and old, not get murdered by you for stupid stuff beforehand."

"Sounds like a plan, kiddo."

_When you fall asleep_

_with your head upon my shoulder_

_When you're in my arms_

_but you've gone somewhere deeper_

_Are you going to age with grace?_

_Are you going to age without mistakes?_

_//Oblivion by Bastille_

**Author's Note:**

> there are likely medical inaccuracies. I am a high school student, not a medical doctor, and thus not required to know these things and I don't care enough to research extensively at this point. to quote the great losingmymindtonight: "you get what you pay for and I'm free"  
> anyways, hope you enjoyed! comments and kudos are always very much appreciated and I'd love to hear what you think!
> 
> much love,  
> evan @wonkystank


End file.
